Decentralized digital ecosystems are transforming the informal economy. Young Africans have adopted and adapted gig economy tools to meet their needs for a flexible digital marketplace. What makes these new business models work so well for them? What can we learn from them to design new systems for our own employment landscape?
According to the Financial Times, gig economy apps may have helped global unemployment hit the lowest point in 40 years, although they face negative publicity for precarious and uncertain incomes. Overlooked is their impact on the informal economies of the developing world, particularly Africa.
Here, apps that can affordably drive demand and scale reach, are currently transforming local markets. They're opening up new opportunity spaces for the social, mobile, youthful generation. Easy to set up and deploy, these apps offer a flexible and negotiable solution to the age old problem of demand and supply.
The session will present and discuss 5 years of field research by Niti Bhan for both private and public sector, undertaken in Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda, in particular:
The panelists will highlight common patterns between gig economy and informal economy, and share design drivers for revenue models that meet the needs of flexibility, negotiability, and discoverability that work for both Europe and Africa.